Pinus parviflora cultivar Blue Angel
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Pine tree, botanically known as Pinus parviflora, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Blue Angelxe2x80x99.
The new Pine tree is a naturally-occurring whole plant mutation of the Pinus parviflora cultivar Glauca, not patented. The Inventor discovered the new Pine tree as a single plant within a population of plants of the parent xe2x80x98Glaucaxe2x80x99 in a controlled environment in Zwischenahn, Germany during the summer of 1964. The selection of this new Pine tree was based of its silvery blue green-colored leaves.
Asexual reproduction of the new Pine tree by scions grafted onto rootstocks of an unidentified selection of Pinus strobus, not patented, in a controlled environment in Zwischenahn, Germany, since 1970 has shown that the unique features of this new Pine tree are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
Plants of the cultivar Blue Angel have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment and culture such as temperature, light intensity, and daylength without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Blue Angelxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Blue Angelxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Upright and uniform plant habit.
2. Silvery blue-green-colored leaves.
3. Excellent garden performance.
Plants of the new Pine tree are most similar to plants of the parent, the cultivar Glauca. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Zwischenahn, Germany, plants of the new Pine tree differed from plants of the cultivar Glauca, in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Pine tree were more upright and not as broad as plants of the cultivar Glauca.
2. Plants of the new Pine tree were more freely branching and were denser and fuller than plants of the cultivar Glauca.
3. Plants of the new Pine tree grew more slowly than plants of the cultivar Glauca.
4. Leaves of plants of the new Pine tree were more silvery blue-green than leaves of plants of the cultivar Glauca.
5. Immature cones of the new Pine tree were purple in color whereas immature cones of the cultivar Glauca were green in color.